Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen appeared to fall ill during a public speech Thursday night, struggling to deliver lines and falling silent for a few long moments.
“Chair Yellen felt dehydrated at the end of a long speech under bright lights,” a Federal Reserve spokesperson said in a statement to the Examiner. “As a precaution, she was seen by EMT staff on-site at U-Mass Amherst. She felt fine afterward and has continued with her schedule Thursday evening.”
Yellen faltered the better part of an hour into an address on monetary policy and inflation, given to a large audience at the college at a brightly lit podium. On a livestream of the event, she could be seen to pause just before the last lines of the text she had prepared, which was available online. She seemed to become confused about her place in the speech, went silent for long periods of time, and coughed severely.
Yellen said in her speech that a rate hike would “likely be appropriate” sometime later this year, after the Fed just passed over a chance to raise rates last week for the first time in years.
